The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1887-03-29
FIRST BATTLE OF BULL RUN.
Michigan Volunteer Tells the Story OF
the Famous Panic and Stampede.

= Michigan Volunteer Tells the Story of
the Famous Panic and Stampede.
The attempt to stop the retreat oc-
Cured at a causeway about two miles
north of Centreville. had been sent as
a courier from Blackburn ford to Centre
vile. and the panic swept me along with
the rest. was only a kid Of boy, IS
years old, and a bandmaster, who wanted
to reach Washington sooner than any
one else, pulled me of my horse and left
me to plOd my way on foot. AT least
5000 panicstricken soldiers had passed
along ahead of me.
We were in horrible confusion, some
mounted, some afoOt, and ambulances,
baggage wagons, army teams and pri-
vate carriages pushing along as fast as
possible, when [ jumped into an army
wagon to which was attached four
horses The driver was in his saddle on
the nigh wheel horse, and seemed to be
taking the matter very cOOliy, but had
scarcely got into tie vehicle when there
was shout of s'rebel cavalry" all along
the road, and the teamster was hard
struck by it. He got down and began to
cut one of the leaders loose, and 1 got
down and took the other, leaving the
of the road. l stripped off everything
but the bride, and had scarcely mounted
when a corporal handed me up two large
cans of chicken. which had come from a
wagon filled with hospital stores. As l
had can under each arm, / could not
guide the horse. but he trOtted along in
the crowd for half mile until, as we
descended a hill, saw ahead of me a
causeway, carriage turned around
across the road. and six or eight men in
line i'll front of the carriage. Not catch
ing on to what was up, and still holding
to the cans my horse kept his place until
Zach Chandler seized him by the bits and
called out to me:
Young man, take that horse back
over the hill; he belongs to the govern
ment.
saw guns in the hands of the citizens,
heard them shouting and swearing at the
sOldiery, and then let fall the cans and
turned the horse around. | had not gone
200 feet when there was a great shout,
and | looked around to see the valiant
congressman driving north at full speed.
Their effort to stop the retreat didn t last
five minutes. AS they sprang into their
carriage the soldiers seized the wheels to
hold them, and two or three attempted to
secure a free ride. The New jersey regi-
ment occupied the causeway, but opened
ranks to let the tide through, and many
of the men flung down their muskets and
joined in the flight.
On three different occasions after 1862
met Mr. Chandler and recalled the in
cident, and he agreed with me in every
detail. The man who accidently shot
Maj. Eaton was the teamster who had
given me one of his horses. We rode the
pair through to Washington side by side.
One who remembers that panic will
laugh at the idea of five OF six citizens
seeking to check it. Had there been a
brigade of troops across the highway 1t
could not have held the frightened tide
five minutes. Had Chandler, Wade and
their crowd DELAYED another minute they
would have been tramped into the earth.
Every man felt that he was being pur-
sued for his life and when commissioned
officers were tearing off their insignia of
rank, hinging away their side arms and
warning all around them to hurry, what
could be expected of the private soldier?
am sorry that Ben Wade didn't cut a
heroic figure at that causeway to make
up Tor the slip three or four miles away
earlier III the day. As l rode a short cut
10 ma my regiment, solid shot passed
near me, smashed an ambulance and tore
the sphnters from beach tree. Bull
nun Russell, Wade, Chandler and other
civilians were just beyond, and the way
tney got up and left that section of Vir-
glnia was laughable to see. got four
OF I've pages OF Russell's manuscript,
cane belonging to some congressman, and
Goud have gathered up two or three plug
nat and museum of TASKS and luncheon
BASKETS
HE congressional crowd went out to
see me Confederates get licked. When
niey found that the boot was ON the other
loo' every man of 'em was as panic
stricken as the youngest soldier, and in
sIe"! OF playing the heroic, except in the
one instance mentioned, they were wish
ing for wings to fly to Washington.
\, oIqnteer, First Michigan Infantry in
New YorkSSun